My best friend Tony
by FrankieQuinn13
Summary: Lot's of kids have imaginary friends, so it's not a big deal if Jacob has one too right? Wrong. Rated T for slash, rating might go up later. Jakeward
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: ok, so t****he tallies**** came in and **_**My Best Friend Tony**_** won by a couple of votes.**

**This first chapter is longer than the one in Fault, because I figured that I shouldn't try and draw this out for too long. By the way Jacob's never met Edward before, the whole thing with the dance never happened.**

**Anywho...**

**Apologies spelling grammar and OOCness**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters, that right goes to Stephanie Meyer.**

**PS Before someone asks. His legacy will get updated as soon as possible, that story's just gotten a little complicated so I'm trying to rework it in a way that... works **

"Jacob?"

Sarah peered around the frame of the open door and smiled when she saw her son in the centre of the room.

Jacob lay on his stomach on the carpeted floor, as he drew and coloured over the large white page he had before him, pausing every now and then to turn his head this way and turning it that way seeming to decide on whether or not the picture looked the way it was supposed to.

The boy bit his bottom lip and his eyebrows knit together tightly in thought until the crease suddenly released and he dropped the brown crayon in his hand to pick up the green one and he smiled as he coloured in small circles at the top of the page.

Sarah stepped inside and stood just in front of the door as she leaned against the wall as she watched her son work. Jacob didn't look up as always, but Sarah knew that he already knows that she's there.

Even when he played hide and seek with Rachel and Rebecca, he always knew when they were near by. He always knew when someone was about to walk into the room, he knew when Billy drove up to the house even before they could hear the roar of his truck.

Whenever they asked him how he knew, he'd always just shrug and continue with whatever game he was playing on his own or some cartoon on the television would catch his attention and he'd break into a giggling fit. The twins thought it was creepy how Jacob just somehow always knew where they went and what they were doing and at first Sarah had been concerned but then Billy would say that the boy was just incredibly perceptive and there was nothing wrong with that.

So Sarah would let it go even though she couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was going on.

Jacob lifted his legs and started swinging them in the air while a smile spread over his lips, before he grabbed another crayon and started drawing around the edges of the paper and hummed a tune.

Sarah smiled at the tune, remembering all those nights when Billy would sing Jacob to sleep after a bad dream. Strangely enough Jacob stopped having bad dreams a few months ago or at least, they seemed to have stopped since Jacob didn't come into their room in the middle of the night any more. until she realised that she hasn't heard this one before.

The toon was soft and melodious, Sarah could almost hear the notes of a piano playing in the background while Jacob hummed.

It didn't sound anything like the quileute songs Billy usually sang to Jacob.

Did he hear it at school or on the television maybe?

Jacob's face twisted up and his nose wrinkled when a few strands of hair fell into his face at the furious scribbling he did and Sarah couldn't help but grin at how adorable he looked. She walked over to his bed and sat down, craning her neck a bit to catch a glimpse at the picture that Jacob was working on.

"Are you drawing something for daddy, Jacob?"

Jacob shook his head and dropped his crayon in exchange for another one, "I'm drawing a picture for Tony."

Sarah let out a soft sigh at that and leaned back with her arms braced against Jacob's bed.

Tony.

Now there's a new problem they weren't sure what to do about.

Tony is Jacob's imaginary friend. He showed up about a month after Jacob's fifth birthday and at first Sarah didn't really think it was a big deal.

Kids create imaginary friends all the time, it was practically a requirement these days. Especially since Jacob only ever played with Embry and Quil, or maybe Bella when she came around. Plus since Jacob started imagining Tony he'd started a number of hobbies, drawing pictures, reading books and listening to music because that's what Tony liked to do.

Sarah didn't even think Jacob knew who Bach was until he mentioned it a few weeks back.

None of Jake's new interest ever seemed to hold any danger for him so Sarah thought it couldn't hurt to play along at least for a bit, she even got the twins and Billy to play along since.

But then Jacob started acting out.

Wandering around the woods because Tony wanted to show him something. Refusing to play with his friends because Tony didn't like going around his friends and Jacob didn't want to go anywhere without Tony.

And then there was the hair pulling and glue incident when Jacob was playing alone with Bella in his room.

He said Tony didn't like it when Bella tried to hold Jacob's hand so he messed up her hair to make her leave.

Jacob kept swearing up and down that Tony's the one that did it but of course they didn't believe him, it didn't help that Jacob laughed while the crying girl pulled at crumpled clumped up mess of hair on her head.

It wasn't like Jacob to behave that way.

He wasn't mean and he certainly never lied so Tony became more of a concern than he used to be and Sarah decided that it was time to stop playing along.

"Jacob-"

"Done!"

Jacob suddenly sat up and held the newly drawn picture up in front of him, before quickly getting up and walking over to his mother with a beaming smile on his face. "Look, do you think he'll like it?"

Sarah looked away from her son's face and took the page in her hand, the older woman frowned as she looked at the picture in confusion. The picture was drawn with the typical childlike charm, there was nothing neat and polished about it. It was a picture of a boy from what Sarah could tell. Jacob had given him bright green eyes and brown hair that looked like it had been mixed in with red and orange. The boy looked like he was sitting in the middle of a square, which Sarah assumed would be the window with some other square object in his hands along with what looked like a pen.

As the older woman looked at the picture there was only one question that immediately came to mind.

"Jacob who is this?"

"It's Tony."

"This is Tony?"

"Yeah." Jacob beamed when his cheeks started to tinge into a slight pink and he smiled at the picture, "He looks nice, huh."

"Jacob," Sarah sighed, "Honey sit down, I need to talk to you about something."

Jacob went around to hop on the bed with his legs dangling off the side as he stared up at the woman before she spoke. "Jacob, I know it can be hard telling the truth sometimes and a lot of times it seems easier to just lie or blame things on other people because you're scared of getting in trouble." The boy nodded when his mother paused and Sarah took that as her que to keep going, "But sweety, when you do that you end up getting into even more trouble than before and people could end up getting hurt. Like Bella was hurt, last week when you were playing here alone."

"But I didn't pull Bella's hair and throw glue in it." Jacob said in earnest as he stared up at his mother with large eyes, "Tony did."

Sarah sighed in frustration, "And why did Tony do that Jacob?"

"Because he doesn't like her. Tony says Bella isn't good for me and that she's a bad influ-uaence."

Sarah would have smiled at the way that Jacob said the word influence if it weren't for the situation. "Jacob-"

"Tony said that I should stay away from capri-capri..." The boy frowned until his face suddenly lit up as he continued, "Capariaous people because they'll only hurt me."

"Did you mean capricious?"

"Yeah."

"How do you even know that word?"

"Tony taught it to me. Tony teaches me a bunch of stuff-"

"Jacob." Sarah interrupted as she put the drawing beside her on the bed and took her son's hand in her own and made sure they kept eye contact as they spoke. "Honey, Tony isn't the one that put glue in Bella's hair, is he?"

"Yes he did. He doesn't like it when Bella holds my hand."

"Are you sure that you don't like it when Bella holds your and so you put glue in her hair to make her stop."

"No, Tony did." Jacob adamantly as he looked right into his mother's eyes and Sarah realised that he might actually believe in Tony and he wasn't just using his imaginary friend as an excuse.

"Jacob. Jacob, honey, Tony isn't real."

"Yes he is."

"No he isn't."

"Yes he is!" Jacob insisted as he pulled his hand from his mother's grasp and got up from the bed. "He's real! He's got a mommy and a daddy, but he doesn't live them anymore because they went away. So I told him he can stay with me in my room."

Sarah let out a deep breath, "And why didn't Tony go with his mommy and daddy."

"He said he can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, he won't tell me."

"Jacob-"

"Look!" The boy suddenly said as he ran over towards the window and picked up another drawing book off the floor that Sarah hadn't noticed when she walked into the room. Jacob quickly flipped through he pages of the book until he found the one he was looking for and pushed the book into her hands, "See, that's Edward's mommy. I told you he was real."

Sarah blinked in surprise as she stared at the picture.

What surprised her most was the how detailed it was. Every line on the page was drawn with precision, clear swift flicks clearly made by an experienced hand and shaded curves that couldn't possibly have been drawn by a five year old.

Well not unless they were some kind of protege but Sarah is sure that Jacob couldn't have drawn this.

"Jacob where did you get this?"

"Tony drew it." Jacob said simply before flipping the page to the next one of a man and a woman holding each other as they smiled in the direction of the artist. Both were dressed in old fashioned clothes like something out of the late eighteen hundreds. "He drew this one too, he's good huh. I wish I could draw like him."

Sarah glanced up at her son for a moment as he tilted his head to the side and let his eyes run over the page. The older woman frowned as she wondered where on earth Jacob could have possibly found the book when she turned the page and felt her eyes go wide.

This one was a picture of Jacob, the boy was looking up at whoever drew him with a smile as he sat in the middle of the backyard with his toy cars scattered around him. Jacob couldn't have drawn this one could he?

As Sarah turned the pages of the book she found even more and more pictures of Jacob in the book.

Pictures of Jacob playing with his toys, Jacob drawing, Jacob watching tv. There were even a few where he was sleeping with his head at the end of the bed while one leg dangled down the side or curled up in a ball under the covers with only the top of his head sticking out.

Jacob couldn't have drawn these.

There was so much detail it had to have been done by someone who saw Jacob playing and drawing and sleeping.

Billy couldn't have done it neither could one of the twins since Sarah would have noticed one of them in Jacob's room.

"Jacob, who drew this?"

"I told you Tony did." Jacob said sounding a little annoyed as he gestured to the window before folding his arms over his chest, "He sits right there everyday when he draws." Sarah looked up at the window when her eyes instantly fell down to the pencil lying against the dresser a few feet away making her frown even more until she looked back to the book and flipped it's pages filled with nothing but images of her son until she got to the last drawn page and gasped at what she saw.

It was a picture of Jacob, he was lying on his stomach on the floor just as he was a few moments before Sarah went up to check on him.

The picture looked unfinished but from what Sarah could tell, the Jacob in the picture was wearing the exact same golf shirt and khaki shorts as he was right at that moment. Sarah's eyes went wide at the silhouette of a man drawn in the mirror hanging just above the dresser beside Jacob's door.

"He's not finished with that one. He stopped when you came in cause he doesn't like it when other people see him." Jacob said with a thoughtful look on his face, "He watches me sleep sometimes and when I get bad dreams he sits with me on the bed so I won't get scared. But he's really cold though."

Sarah's breath hitched in her throat as she just kept staring at the reflection drawn in on the mirror in the picture until a hand suddenly touched her arm, making her jump in surprise and look up at her son with wide terrified eyes.

"Mom? Is something wrong?"

Sarah's mind went into overdrive at the sound of her son's voice and she moved without realising it. She dropped the sketch pad on the ground and wrapped Jacob in her arms as she shot off the bed and out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's been eleven years since then and Jacob's life hasn't gotten any easier.

No one ever believed him when he tried to tell them about Tony. No one except his mom of course, she believed he was real.

Unfortunately for Jacob though, his mother was convinced that some peadophillic stalker had been hanging around Jacob and watching his every move. And although no one ever saw this supposed stalker go anywhere near Jacob's room that hadn't stopped Sarah from watching Jacob's every move just to be sure.

Eventually Billy had had enough of all the craziness and took Jacob to a child psychologist that Renee had suggested just before she and Bella moved away after her and Charlie's divorce.

There were many long hours where Jacob had sat there in front of this odd little woman with the framed glasses and curly red hair, throwing tantrums and crying in frustration because she wouldn't believe him no matter what he said.

Sarah would go with Jacob to his sessions, listening as the psychologist explained all of Jacob's theories away, somehow managing to explain the pictures as a hidden talent Jacob might not be wholly aware of. Somehow convincing Sarah that she had been wrong and that Jacob could be suffering from an acute form of schizophrenia.

Earning a lot of heart broken sighs from Rebecca and Rachel and the occasional worried glance from his father.

Although Sarah believed the woman to a certain extent she couldn't shake the feeling that Jacob might be telling the truth, so she kept an eye on him whenever she could and never left him alone for too long.

Eventually though Jacob just gave up trying to convince everyone and decided to lie.

He didn't want to, but Tony told him that it was the only way the doctor would leave him alone

He's real by the way.

Tony.

Anthony is his full name but Jacob just calls him Tony.

He's very real, Jacob has been seeing Tony in his room ever since his fifth birthday. He didn't know why no one else saw Tony when Jacob could see him clear as day, but at the time Jacob didn't really care.

Tony was really nice and smart and handsome that Jacob just really didn't see anything wrong with letting the older boy hang around his room whenever he wanted.

It wasn't till much later that Jacob realised that Tony was a ghost although he probably should have realised sooner.

He could move and touch things on his own but he could never seem to be able to touch Jacob and when he tried his hand would always just go through the quileute's skin. Making cold chills run all along his skin. No one could ever seem to see him besides Jacob and no one could ever hear him besides Jacob.

It wasn't too bad at first until Tony put glue in Bella's hair.

Jacob wasn't sure why he'd done that but over the passed few years Jacob has learnt that Tony didn't like it when anyone that wasn't part of his family got too close to him. Resulting in very bad things happening to those that tried.

A good example being Melissa Woods chair suddenly falling backwards and skidding across the classroom when she'd tried to kiss him in the third grade.

Jacob dealt with it as best as he could, but he never tried to make Tony leave, especially when his mother passed on and Rebecca left just before Billy got sick and Rachel left as well.

Tony was there through all of that.

Sitting next to Jacob while he sobbed and mourned. Telling him that everything would be O.K. His cool presence became a comfort for Jacob after he phased for the first time and his skin became unbearably warm.

Tony's always been there. He was there when Jacob phased for the first time, when Bella moved back into town and he's still here now.

"Why can't I come with you?"

Jacob gave a sigh as he stared at the pale reflection of the bronze haired man behind his own reflection in the mirror as he fussed over his hair, trying to figure out which way would look best for a date with Bella and her bloodsucking boyfriend.

"Because Bella said her leech is a mind reader, it's already hard enough as it is trying to keep the pack from finding out about you when I phase, it'll be twice as hard trying to do it with a mind reading vampire while you're right there with me."

Tony gave a sigh as he fell back on the bed, not making it stir so much as an inch as he stared up at the ceiling, "Why do you even have to go meet her boyfriend anyway? She's finally out of our hair, can't we just move on and pretend like she never existed?"

"I can't because she's my best friend, no matter how much you hate her I still want to be around her." Jacob said after an exasperated sigh.

"Why?" Tony asked as he pushed himself up on his elbows. "She's so clumsy the girl can barely take three steps without falling all over herself. You could do so much better than her, Jacob."

"You know I don't like Bella that way anymore, so that isn't what this is about."

"Then what is this about?"

Jacob turned around and folded his arms across his chest to stare at the ghost on his bed, "It's about saving my best friend from an eternity of hell, Bella doesn't know what she's getting herself in for. She's trapped under whatever spell the bloodsucker put her under."

"Well why do you have to be the one who saves her?" Tony asked with a pout and Jacob just rolled his eyes as he snatched his jacket off the end of the bed.

"Because no one else can."

Jacob gasped when Tony was suddenly right there beside him and he felt cold shivers run all along his heated skin as the ghost seemed to lean into him. "Jacob don't go."

The shifter forced back a moan as he felt Tony's hands drift across his skin in air like sweeps, "I can't stay, Tony let go."

The ghost sighed as he pulled away and Jacob let out a sigh of relief as he tugged his jacket on and made to leave the room.

He hates it when Tony does that, not because he doesn't like it but because it could never be anything more than a whisper of a touch and really he can't deal with being teased that way. He wants more and he knows that Tony does too, but it's impossible with him being what he is.

Jacob thinks its just better if they keep the touching to a minimal.

"I'll be back later O.K?"

Tony folded his arms over his chest and gave an almost infant like pout as he turned back and fell on the bed, "Fine."

"Don't follow me."

"I won't."

Jacob paused by the door and narrowed his eyes down at the ghost, "I'm serious Tony."

"I won't follow you."

Jacob just rolled his eyes and left the room, soundly locking the door behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jacob parked the brown rabbit in the drive way of the Swan house and took a deep breath as he prepared for lunch with evil.

It doesn't matter how much Bella insists that Edward and his family wasn't like Laurent an the other's Jacob didn't believe her. A vampire's a vampire.

Their killers, always have been always will be.

Just cause these ones that claim to only feed on animals doesn't mean that their any less dangerous than the others. Bella's being naïve but Jacob knows that Bella is naturally trusting. She tries to see the best in people and that's exactly why Jacob has to save her from making the biggest mistake of her life.

After one more deep breath of clean bloodsucker free air, Jacob opened the door to his car and climbed out before slamming the door and walking up to the house.

It was strange though.

He could see the leeches car right there in the driveway, reeking of leech but there was another scent under that one all around the car, one that actually smelled kind of nice.

Jacob knew that it wasn't Bella's scent, but that didn't make it any less inviting.

The shifter could smell the scent lead all the way to Bella's house and he briefly wondered if one of Bella's friends from school was there as well when he stopped and gave the door three knocks.

After a few seconds the door opened and Jacob smiled as he looked down at his best friend who smiled back as she threw her arms around him and gave him a hug.

"Jacob, it's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too Bells."

The girl pulled away with a grin as she spoke, "I swear you get bigger every time I see you."

Jacob blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Or maybe you're just getting smaller."

Bella clicked her tongue at him as she playfully punched his arm when the girl reached out to take his arm and pulled him inside.

Jacob let the girl lead him into the kitchen where a figure stood by the kitchen window with his hands in his pockets staring looking up just in time to catch the shifter's shocked expression.

"Edward this is Jacob Black."

The vampire pushed off the counter and stepped forward but frowned in confusion when all the shifter did in return was gape and stare.

The same hair, the same face, the only real difference was in their eyes but other than that this guy, this vampire looks just like-

"Jacob this is-"

"Tony?"

**A/N: so tell me what you think**

**There's going to be a couple of flashbacks in between to when Jacob was younger but otherwise this one shouldn't be too long.**

**Please review**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: hey guys.**

**Sorry for the long wait. It's just that I was hoping to post the next chapter along with all my other stories but **_**his legacy**_** is writer's blocking me so I figured going this long without posting really won't do. It's super frustrating cause I'm like ten thousand words down on that one but the plot is giving me issues. But I don't wanna half-ass it so that story will have to wait a bit longer.**

**Next chapter.**

**Edward's side of the story**

**I can be a very cynical writer so bare with me; none of the comments expressed in this story were meant to do any harm, they were written strictly for the sake of humour or insanity... You know what either way, I think it's an interesting read.**

**P.S: I channelled a bit of My Chemical Romance in this one. **_**Desolation row**_** to be more specific. I know Bob Dylan originally wrote the song but I like the MCR remix a little better.**

**Apologies spelling, grammar and OOCness**

**Disclaimer see first chapter.**

Romeo and Juliet.

This story bores me.

The tragic tale of the two star crossed lovers destined to be together, but couldn't because of the many danger's that their love held for them. It's a bit of a cliché but, that isn't what pisses me off though, what pisses me off is little miss Mary-Sue.

So beautiful, so angelic, so sweet that it didn't take long for Paris and Romeo to fall hopelessly in love with her.

Naïve, immature, obviously lacking in intelligence, completely suicidal and as emo as they come and yet all these delusional men somehow found that endearing.

And Romeo, oh sweet Romeo.

The hot headed, simple little fool goes from pining after Rosaline to pining after her underage cousin in t-minus 0.5 seconds. Never mind that he knew this girl for all of two days before trying to kill himself over his one true love, but the man shows such little restraint during the mess with Mercutio and Tybalt that he ended up getting himself kicked out of Verona.

Granted it wasn't his fault, he just sort of got pulled into that mess and he acted in a blind rage, but let us not forget that he's the idiot that tried to get between them and tried to stop Mercutio, leading to Tybalt driving a sword through Mercutio's heart while Romeo distracted him.

Then of course there's the fact that Juliet was twelve while Romeo was almost twenty-one when they hooked up, meaning that Juliet honestly couldn't have had enough experience to be able to make the right decisions like not killing herself over a guy she met two days before. Of course, also meaning that Romeo was technically paedophile. Now you could argue that they were born in a different time when children's rights didn't exist and doing an eleven to twelve year old wasn't a big deal, but consider this;

If you had a twelve year old daughter and they were dating a twenty year old, would you be O.K with it? And if so, how long do you think they'll last until they end up on Jerry Springer?

Doesn't sound so romantic anymore now does it?

Me, I prefer the story of Cinderella.

The girl had character, she had class. She was loyal to all her little animal friends, respected her step mother and siblings regardless of how they treated her, worked her ass off every single day and had dreams for her future. She dreamt of someday leaving her home and being as free as a bird.

Enter prince charming, dazzled by Cinderella's beauty and infinite charm. All the other girls were looking for was a hot new hubby with a wallet full of cash, but Cinderella wanted more than just that. See prince charming's got an eye for these things, he knows a good catch when he sees one and hey, she wasn't a bad dancer either.

Now of course they were a little reckless as well, I mean meeting a girl once and then deciding that she was the one you absolutely had to marry and Cinderella just agreeing to marry him, yeah they were pretty stupid in that respect. But then again, at least she didn't try to kill herself when step momma evil incarnate locked her away and tried to keep her from seeing prince charming.

Cinderella was beautiful, kind, loyal, strong willed, determined. She had a little bit of rebel defiance when she snuck out against her step mother's wishes and went to the hot guy's party.

Cinderella had personality while Juliet just... Didn't.

Plus according to the internet Cinderella was anywhere between the ages of sixteen to nineteen when she got married, so score one for prince charming and his non-paedophillic ways.

Cinderella was a great gal wasn't she?

Now here's the question, what would have happened if Romeo met Cinderella instead of Juliet?

If Romeo met a hard working, non-suicidal, less emo version of his darling Juliet. What do you think he'd do?

If Cinderella met a slightly more intense, self sacrificing, ambitious, more emo version of her prince Charming. What do you think she'd do?

Would they balance each other out?

The dreamer and the realist.

The prince and the pauper.

Would they find strength in each other and live happily ever after or would they crash and burn hard?

What does any of this have to do with the story?

It has to do with Edward and Bella.

They were like Romeo and Juliet.

Two star crossed lovers fated for tragedy because of the danger that their love held for both of them.

He is a vampire and she is a human.

Just like Romeo was a Montague and Juliet was a Capulet. Their families didn't get along and therefore they would be enemies for as long as they both lived.

Edward couldn't be with Bella because the danger of harming her beyond repair was too great for him to ignore. He was a constant danger to her well being but for some reason Bella didn't care, she loves him regardless of what he is and is willing to forsake all others in order to keep him.

Just like Juliet stayed faithful to Romeo after he was forced to leave Verona and refused to betray him even going as far as death itself to stay true to her one and only love.

Edward watched as Bella moved about the kitchen, grabbing glasses and pulling out a large plate to place on the table he stood in front of. The girl looked up at him and her cheeks flushed at his stare, Bella gave him a small smile before turning back to the cupboards on the other side of the room.

Rosy cheeks and full pink lips, Edward wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch that porcelain skin, but held back for a moment choosing instead to just watch as his love moved and breathed.

Long dark hair that carried the faint scent of strawberry shampoo swayed around her shoulders in soft waves while her heart thumped steadily in her chest. Tempting Edward as it did every minute of the day that he was around her as it pumped that overly sweet smelling blood.

In the bright lighting of the afternoon light, Bella was a beautiful sight to be hold. So innocent and pure, so naïve and trusting in her love for Edward that she fell apart when he left her before. She loves him more than all else, she's willing to give up everything, including her life, just to be with Edward.

Just like Juliet giving her life when she found the lifeless corpse of her lover laying beside her in the crypt.

She's ready to follow Edward anywhere, even into the after life.

Anything to be with her Romeo.

And Edward was prepared to do the same.

Leaving Bella the first time, it felt like he was slowly dying away inside like when Romeo was forced to leave for Montua after the murder of Tybalt and he found out of her death.

When Edward had thought that Bella was dead the only thing he could think of doing next was to kill himself. He couldn't imagine living in a world where Bella didn't exist, so he went to the Volturi for his execution.

But Bella saved him.

Now, they could have the life that Romeo and Juliet never had. They could be together forever and never be apart. As soon as they're married and Edward changes her, they can start an eternity of happiness, just the two of them.

As guilty as he felt about Bella's imminent death, Edward was more than happy to live the rest of his life with the love of his life, really he was.

Edward watched Bella, for once settled deeply in his own thoughts as the human girl went about her way.

With Bella it was always that way.

He couldn't read her mind, couldn't tell what she was thinking or even how she felt so for the most part Edward would try to watch her facial expressions and keep track of her scent in an effort to at least guess what she was thinking and if there was anything she needed. Unfortunately the only definitive source he had was scent since her facial expressions were mostly blank unless she wanted you to know her feelings.

Edward's always thought that made her mysterious, and enticing. All those hours he used to spend trying to guess Bella's thoughts, it was like finding a rubiks cube for the very first time. Trying to figure out how it works and which way to get the colours all lined up together without ruining another side of the cube. That's what Bella made Edward feel.

It was almost fun, in a way fascinating and he still feels that way it's just that now he was starting to wonder.

Other than her silent mind and besides her scent what was it that drew Edward towards her?

If she didn't have either of those things would he still be as eager to stay with her? Would he have even noticed her.

Over the passed few decades since he was turned and in that time Edward had never really given much thought to any of the people he's met, at least not in a romantic way.

Vampire or human it never really mattered.

He was lonely of course, terribly lonely. He'd look at Carlisle and Esme and saw the one thing he wanted but didn't have. A mate.

Someone he could call his own.

But as the years passed Edward never met anyone he could see himself being with that way.

Even when Carlisle turned Rosalie with the purpose of being his mate, Edward didn't feel anything for the blonde despite her intense beauty.

He went on for years, forever alone even with his family getting bigger and closer with every year that passed by.

But then came Bella.

Her silent mind is the first thing he noticed.

He couldn't read her the way she could read everyone else's and that fact frustrated him more than anything else in this world. He's always been able to read minds, it was a curse that he's been forced to live with for years and now he couldn't use it on this one girl.

Then he noticed her scent and that's when the game was flipped over on it's head.

It was sweet.

Intoxicatingly sweet. Her blood called out to him in a way that blood has never done before and Edward was terrified at the thought that he might loose control and kill her. She made things dangerous for him and his family

So that's what he felt when he first met her.

Frustration and fear.

That's not really that big of a deal is it?

First impressions can be tough after all and Edward's gotten to know Bella over the passed few months.

Bella is sweet and caring and so compassionate. Yes he probably wouldn't have noticed her without her gift of silence and sweet scent but, maybe...

Maybe fate intended it to be that way.

Maybe he's meant to be with Bella and her scent and mind were just ways for destiny to bring them together, after all. Bella is a great girl, beautiful and loving. If it wasn't for her scent he might have passed her by and not even once seen the true potential that this one human had.

It wasn't that way for Carlisle and Esme, Alice and Jasper or Rosalie and Emmett. Their meetings were instantaneous and in each instance they knew what they meant to each other the moment their eyes met.

But we each have our own way don't we.

Fate is unpredictable after all, Edward's path might just be meant to be different than theirs so he doesn't really mind.

As long as this void in his chest is filled and his solitude is eased, then none of it does.

Unfortunately for Edward the void wasn't filling.

The telepath gave a soft sigh as Bella walked passed and her scent slowly drifted passed him, making the vampire grit his teeth briefly as he fought back against his urges like he has since they met.

He loves Bella, Edward is sure of that and yet somehow the telepath can't help but feel empty, the same way he felt when he woke three days after he was first bitten.

That place were his soul was meant to be didn't feel any less empty than it has since they met and in the back of his mind, Edward secretly wondered why.

He's managed to chalk it up to the fact that they haven't mated yet. Convinced himself that once they are the feeling would go away and he'd never feel empty again. Of course he felt a bit guilty at that since he didn't want to damn Bella to the same fate as his and hoped that she'd reconsider wanting to be turned, but then again at the same time he was glad that she wanted to be with him forever and would do anything to accomplish that even if it meant dying and losing her own soul.

But then there's that voice in the back of his head, the one he refused to acknowledge that kept calling him a fool.

It told him that Bella wasn't meant to be his mate, that he was just trying to force a bond in a desperate escape from loneliness and Bella was just gullible enough to believe in their supposed love too. Human's are fragile, easy to convince of almost anything as long as they believed that some kind of higher power some calling of destiny was behind it.

The voice said that if Edward really loved her he never would have left in the first place, would have turned her when he had the chance. If he really believed that she was his mate then what was holding him back?

Guilt?

Perhaps, he wanted his hand to be forced. To have no other choice but to change her and make he like he was.

But that already happened when James attacked her but he still chose to keep her human.

Why?

What difference does it make whether or not she's turned when she's sixteen or eighteen? He's seventeen, well physically at least. So if she's meant to be his then why wait?

Edward knew why.

The reason was right there in the back of his head but he refused to acknowledge it. He went so far in trying to ignore it that he went to the Volturi to commit suicide in an effort to deny that he didn't belong with her.

Because she killed herself to be with him, sacrificed everything so they could be together. She's his Juliet.

It might not have been instant love at first sight, but she's his mate.

She has to be.

Bella walked back around the table to check the glasses that she placed there and let out a deep breath as she spoke.

"I can't wait for you to meet him, Edward. Jacob is such a great guy, I hope this goes well."

The vampire forced a smile onto his face, "So do I."

No, no he doesn't.

Edward could really care less about the stupid mutt and quite frankly he doesn't want Jacob anywhere near Bella, but he can't tell Bella that. She wouldn't understand the hatred that flows between their kind.

But then again she shouldn't have to after all, Jacob was there for her when Edward royally fucked up.

Stood by her side and took care of her. He's the one that saved Bella when she jumped off the cliff. If it hadn't been for the stupid mutt, Bella would be dead.

So whether Edward likes it or not, he has no choice but to at least try and be civil with the dog. Plus young wolves are dangerous and from what Bella told him, Jacob went through his first phase a few weeks ago. He couldn't have gotten much control of it by now, he needs to make sure things go as calmly as possible.

Charlie already hates him, he doesn't want his future father in law to get any more reasons to despise his existence by getting his house demolished.

Of course he's not just going to roll over and play dead either (no pun intended). Also from what Bella told him, Jacob may have developed a crush on her and that won't do at all.

The mutt needs to learn his place and if Edward has to be the one to teach it to him, well...

"Edward." Bella paused as she turned towards him with a look of concern, biting her lip briefly as she stepped forward, "I know things between you and Jacob might get difficult because of what you both are, but I really want you two to get along. Jacob is my best friend and I care about him, but I'm in love with you so, please try to be civil."

Edward looked at the human girl and smiled as he locked that doubtful voice away. He loves Bella, they're meant to be together, no matter what happens. This is how it's meant to be.

"I promise, to try." The telepath stepped forward and gently reached out to cup the girl's face in one hand to tilt her head up a bit and press a kiss against her lips, careful to stop his breathing for a moment as he moved his lips against hers.

There was always a risk of hurting Bella whenever they were this close, so Edward tried his best to control his strength and urges.

But this is only temporary soon, it won't be necessary.

Bella lifted her hands up to the vampires shoulders so she could steady herself as she moaned into the kiss, before Edward pulled back to stare at the human who's eyes fluttered open to stare back slightly dazed with a wry smile.

"But I can't make any promises for the wolf."

Bella gave a sigh, "Jacob will be fine, I hope."

Just then Edward heard the motor of a car pull in in front of the house. It sounded old, but well kept.

Didn't Bella say that Jacob liked to fix cars?

"He's here."

Bella's eyes widened for a moment before she quickly pulled away to find something in the fridge and Edward took a deep breath expecting to find his senses filled with the unwelcome scent of wet dog only it didn't.

The vampire frowned as he took a deep breath only to realise that the scent was actually quite pleasant. Really pleasant.

It smelled good.

So maybe it isn't Jacob.

As the scent grew stronger and Edward heard footsteps get louder the vampire kept taking deep breaths of his scent, trying to think of anyone that scent might belong to. But the vampire was sure that no one in Forks smelled like that, he would have known if they did. It must be someone new.

But Bella didn't mention having any new friends. Maybe one of Charlie's friends a relative maybe?

Edward was about to tell Bella that it wasn't Jacob after all when he suddenly heard the unknown persons thoughts loud and clear.

_'Stupid fucking leech'_

Leech?

Edward has met with some of the wolves before, on their first trip to Forks and when they returned. Leech is one of the top ten on the list of insults that the wolves usually had to offer them so he knew whoever was coming had to be a dog.

But why does he smell so good?

Edward's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

_'Why can't she just choose someone norma-... What's that smell?... Smells kinda good'_

Footsteps got closer.

_'Does Bella have a friend over or something?'_

Edward continued to listen in on the shifter's puzzled thoughts when there were three knocks on the door and Bella quickly turned back to leave the room.

"I'll be right back."

The girl left and Edward tried to steel his nerves to prepare for what was coming. The fact that a shifter smelled good was something that he could examine closer at another time.

Right now he has to focus on Bella and Jacob and getting along with Jacob because he's important to Bella and what's important to his mate is important to him as well.

Edward took a deep breath and shoved his hands in his pockets just as Bella opened the door.

The scent hit him full force as the last barrier of the door was removed and Edward's eyes snapped shut, fighting back against the urge for them to roll into the back of his head.

God, that smells good.

Why does it smell so good?

"Jacob, it's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too Bells."

"I swear you get bigger every time I see you."

"Or maybe you're just getting smaller."

Bella clicked her tongue and Edward heard a soft thud just before the door closed and two pairs of feet made their way to the kitchen.

It all almost seemed to go in slow motion. Bella appeared first with a bright smile on her face as she pulled on a larger arm along with her until a boy appeared behind her.

The moment Edward laid eyes on him, he almost felt his mind grind to a halt as he took the shifter in.

"Edward this is Jacob Black."

The vampire pushed off the counter and stepped forward but frowned in confusion when all the shifter did in return was gape and stare.

Jacob looked shocked half to death, Edward wasn't sure why the shifter seemed so shocked but Edward was surprise for reasons he really couldn't force his mind to understand at all.

The moment he locked eyes with Jacob, Edward knew that the shifter meant something to him something important. But for some reason his mind refused to function in such a way that he could understand what.

And he's... beautiful.

Edward almost frowned at that. He's never found another man to be beautiful, before he barely even acknowledged that women were beautiful. It just never seemed like there was any point. He didn't really feel anything for those people so why bother harbouring superficial thoughts like that.

But right at that moment Edward couldn't help but think that Jacob made a striking picture.

Dark russet skin stretched over a muscled frame and high cheek bones. He had pitch black hair, cut oddly at some angles like he had done it himself although Edward couldn't say that the cut didn't suit him. But the crowning jewel had to be those eyes.

Deep brown eyes that somehow burned with fire and innocence all at once, despite the wolf's obvious shock.

Edward may not be superficial but even he can't deny that Jacob is beautiful.

That's when Jacob's thoughts came through.

_'His-his hair and and and eyes... He-wha-"_

"Jacob this is-"

"Tony?"

Bella blinked in surprise and gave an odd little laugh as she stared at her friend in confusion, while Edward just continued to stare back.

There's something about this boy, Edward can't figure out what it is.

"No, no Jacob this is Edward, remember. My boyfriend, he's..." Bella paused for a moment before she spoke, "Different."

Bella might as well have been speaking french, none of it got through to Jacob. As far as Edward could hear the shifter was having a mental break down.

_'What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck! Tony I swear to God if your screwing with me right now-'_

Edward took another step forward and couldn't help but tilt his head as he asked, "Who's Tony?"

Jacob blinked and had to force himself to look away, _'No, no it can't be. Tony's eyes are green and his hair is different, it's just some weird coincidence. Breathe Jacob.'_

"Uhgm, no one." The shifter took a deep breath when he tensed up all over again and his head snapped up to stare at the vampire.

_'Wait a minute... He's the one that smells good? Why?!'_

Edward would have asked the shifter the same thing about himself, but he wasn't sure exactly how much Bella has told Jacob so he kept that to himself.

Instead Edward pulled his hand out of his pocket and reached out towards the shifter. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jacob."

Jacob was still very much dazed and confused, so he didn't just glare down at Edward's hand like Sam had the day they met three years ago.

"Uh yeah."

The shifter put his hand in Edward's without even thinking about it and Edward felt his brain malfunction for the second time that day as heat suddenly surged right up from where he made contact with the shifter.

Jacob gasped at the touch and Edward could see him shiver visibly and his eyes flutter for a moment before the shifter suddenly snatched his hand back and glared.

_'What the-'_

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

Bella looked startled at the sudden outburst but Edward could do nothing more than stare at the shifter when everything suddenly fell into place.

_'Mine'_

"Jacob, what's wrong?"

"You-... You're-"

But Jacob just stepped back a glaring at the vampire, even through the confusion that shone clearly in his eyes.

_'Bella said he's a mind reader. What if he-'_

Jacob's eyes went wide along with Edward's when the vampire realised the conclusion that Jacob came up with.

"You're doing this."

"No, Jacob I-"

"STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" Jacob roared and Bella's eyes went wide when the shifter suddenly turned on his heel and ran from the house. Edward felt a sharp tug in his chest when the shifter left and barely paid any attention to the human girl beside him as he followed Jacob out the door.

Edward got there just in time to see Jacob phase, ripping through his clothes mid leap before he ran for the forest. Tearing through the forest as he disappeared in the brush.

Edward just stood there and watched the shifter go, feeling that void in his chest throb in pain.

Jacob was upset and confused, going after a wolf in this state would be a very bad idea. Edward has to wait, let him cool off.

Even if the ache in his chest throbbed in protest.

Somehow at that exact moment Edward felt calm, relaxed even. Like for the first time in years everything made sense and he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

But then-

"Edward." The vampire looked down when he felt something tugging at his arm and he looked in to Bella's eyes.

The girl was concerned, hurt and confused.

"What just happened, why did Jacob leave like that?"

And with that question Edward's calm peaceful world dropped in to chaos as he realised the full gravity of his current situation.

His mate is a shifter...

It was instantaneous, he could smell Jacob before he even saw him and when they're eyes locked. He knew the boy was important to him.

Like Carlisle with Esme, Rosalie with Emmett and Alice with Jasper.

Love at first sight.

Romeo meet Cinderella.

**A/N: strange I know, but it'll make sense.**

**Probably**

**Anyway next chapter is all Jacob and Tony and I'll go a little bit into how Tony came to be. **

**Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: change of plans Jacob and Tony aren't really so much the main focus of this** **chapter, but there is a little bit on Tony and Jacob so there's a heads up on that.**

**Please note this story won't be too long. I'm aiming for just eight chapters max. since I really want to get started on Forcing the imprint**

**As for this chapter I really wanted to focus in on the whole Romeo + Cinderella thing so Edward is super cheesy in this one. I really tried to capture Romeo's emo-romantic nature in this. **

**P.S: Thanks for all the reviews I really appreciate them.**

**Usual apologies**

**Disclaimer: see first chapter**

Anthony remembers being born, sort of.

I suppose "born" isn't quite the right word, but then again saying that it was the moment he died wouldn't exactly fit either. Yes, he's technically dead but he hasn't left the mortal plain, so he likes to think of it as still being alive, sort of.

Anyway the memories that Anthony has on the day that he was sort of born are admittedly a little fuzzy, although in his defense that all happened more than fifty years ago even for a ghost some memory confusion should be expected.

Everything was completely silent.

He remembers a hospital, or at least he thinks it was a hospital. It certainly looked like a hospital. He was in a large room with white walls and grey floors, around about fifty beds in that one room all lined up in three neat rows with only two of the beds being occupied. One had a woman on it, the woman looked to be in her late thirties early forties maybe. She had long bronze hair that seemed to have thinned out and pale sickly looking skin covered in a sheet of sweat.

Anthony was standing beside her bed, staring down at her as he tried to remember who she was. He knows who she is, he's certain of it, but for the life of him when he tried to put her face to a name he couldn't come up with anything at all.

And then suddenly right at that moment almost as if he was standing in a sound proof room and someone had suddenly decided to open the door, Anthony heard a heart wrenching scream of pain and his head snapped up to see a man in a white medical coat standing over the bed beside them. He had blonde hair and deathly pale skin only unlike the woman his skin didn't look sickly but flawlessly beautiful, like porcelain or polished marble. The man's hands were clenched tightly at his sides and his eyes were shut tight while the figure on the bed next to him screamed and writhed in pain.

"Carlisle…" the woman suddenly rasped out and Anthony watched as the man slowly walked over and crouched down beside her, taking her frail hand into his own and the woman smiled weakly at him, "Thank you."

"There's still time to-"

"No, my time here is finished." The woman said even as her eyes almost seemed to grow heavier, "Take care of him."

Carlisle nodded his head before letting it rest on the bed beside her as he sobbed, the woman let out a soft sigh and shockingly enough she turned her head and looked right up at Anthony with a soft smile. Although he wasn't at all sure as to what was going on at the time he also somehow he knew that she wasn't supposed to be able to see him, that he wasn't supposed to be there at all.

"Anthony?" The man didn't seem to notice her speak, but apparently she knew his name, which is about all he could really remember about himself so that wasn't really saying much. But for some reason right at that moment he suddenly realized exactly how he knew her.

"Mother?" Anthony said as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion while the woman's smile grew a little more, "Promise me, promise me that you won't ever give up. That you'll find love and happiness just like I did with your father. Please don't forget…"

And the next moment, the woman's eyes slid shut and she let out her last breath. The man beside the bed continued to sob and Anthony watched in shock as a bright light suddenly shone around them, drowning out everyone and everything before it all just as suddenly faded to black.

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The moment Edward pulled up to the house Alice appeared in the doorway, quickly running down the driveway to meet him while Jasper just stayed on the porch instead.

After Jacob ran into the woods, Edward tried to reassure Bella as best as he could before excusing himself with the promise of seeing her later.

His mind was still whirling with what had happened between him and the shifter and Edward just couldn't deal with her and sort out his thoughts at the same time. So he left, deciding to just talk it over with Carlisle to see if the older man could help him understand any of this.

What Edward didn't take into account was Alice.

"Edward where have you been? Why didn't you answer any of my phone calls?" Alice asked looking incredibly worried as she stared at her brother and Edward frowned.

"I was with Bella, why did something happen?"

"Yes something happened!" Alice hissed in frustration, "You disappeared."

"What?" Edward blinked in surprise and Alice continued, "An hour ago, I had a vision. I saw you with Bella in her house but then your future just went blank. It was like you died."

The telepath frowned.

An hour ago? That's when Jacob left right.

Does he have something to do with this?

"Edward what happened, does this have anything to do with that wolf Bella wanted you to meet?" The pixie asked as she stepped closer only for the telepath to walk around her into the house, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Alice asked incredulously as she followed and Jasper frowned when his brother walked passed him. Something in Edward has changed; his emotions now are much different from what they were a few hours ago before he left to see Bella.

There was anger, happiness, confusion, lust, relief and heartache all mixed in together in a way that didn't make any sense whatsoever. Although Jasper wasn't completely unfamiliar with such a state of emotion. He's felt it before, whenever he came across a vampire that was just recently mated-

At that thought Jasper held back a gasp and Edward paused beside his brother, the blonde held his gaze as he thought.

'_You found your mate didn't you' _Edward sighed and Jasper just knew, _'But it isn't Bella.'_

Edward nodded.

'_Who is it?'_

Edward opened his mouth to speak when Alice spoke before he could. "Edward what is going on?"

The telepath ignored her, "Where's Carlisle?"

"In his office." Jasper answered with a frown of concern while Edward nodded and immediately headed for the stairs. Alice growled in frustration, "Edward-"

"Alice I promise I'll explain later, but I need to speak with Carlisle first." The pixie gave an indignant huff but didn't say another word as she watched her brother go up the stairs.

Edward took a deep breath once he'd finally made it upstairs before walking over to the door of his father study and lifted his hand to knock when.

"It's alright, come in."

Edward paused for another moment before he opened the door and stepped inside to find the doctor sitting behind his desk as he shuffled through some paperwork, "Am I interrupting?"

"No, no. I was just going through a few of my patients files," Carlisle said as he stacked the papers up in a neat pile and set them aside before looking up at the telepath, "Besides, you seem to have more important things on your mind. Sit down, what seems to be the problem."

It seemed so odd and comically similar to a cliché visit to the doctor that the telepath had to hold back a snort but he still nodded as he did as he sat down. Carlisle didn't immediately ask why he was there, instead waiting patiently so Edward could take a moment to compose himself and gather his thoughts. "I-... I went to go see Bella today; she wanted to introduce me to one of her friends, one of the wolves from the reservation who took care of her after I-."

Edward didn't finish his sentence since they both knew exactly what he did and all the pain his actions had caused all of them. Carlisle nodded for him to continue and Edward swallowed hard. "His name is Jacob Black."

Carlisle blinked in surprise, "Billy Black's son?"

Edward nodded, "Yes."

When the bronze haired vampire didn't speak Carlisle frowned as his eyes filled with concern, "Edward, you didn't get into a fight with him did you?"

"No, of course not. I'd never jeopardize the treaty like that."

"Then what happened?"

The telepath sighed, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I think, I think he might be my mate."

Carlisle's eyes went wide at the exact moment that the sound of a glass breaking somewhere in the house rang through the air and Edward sighed since he could hear the footsteps headed towards the door before it suddenly flew open.

"You think that a dog is your what?!"

Rosalie.

The blonde stood fuming in the door way and Edward immediately glared as he stood up as well, "He is not a dog, Rosalie."

The blonde's mouth fell open in a gape before she quickly shut it and hissed, "Unbelievable, first the blood bag now a dog. Who's next Edward a member of the Volturi?"

Edward growled in anger as he glared at the blonde, thankfully Carlisle intervened.

"Rosalie, leave."

"But-"

"This doesn't concern you as of yet. Now go." Carlisle said clearly a she narrowed his eyes down at the girl and Rosalie grabbed the door to slam it behind her as she left the room and Edward sighed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Carlisle said with a sigh of his own as he raked a hand through his hair before he spoke, "Although she raises a good point Edward. Just this morning you were insistent on the fact that Bella was your mate and now you say it's a shape shifter."

"I know it doesn't make any sense."

"Not in the slightest." Carlisle said as he looked up at his son, "They were born to hunt our kind. The only reason that they shift is for that one and only purpose."

"I know that."

"Our kind was never meant to… mix in any way whatsoever."

"I know that!" Edward said as he shot up out of his seat and started pacing the room in front of the desk "I know that I thought Bella to be my mate a mere two hours ago and I know it doesn't make any sense for me to want him in any way whatsoever but I also know that I couldn't stay away from him even if I wanted to."

Carlisle just watched as Edward continued to pace growling in frustration as he yanked his jacket off and tossed it onto one of the seats, "He's just so… God, I don't even know how to explain it."

'_Beautiful?'_ Carlisle thought idly and Edward shook his head, "Yes, yes he's beautiful breathtaking even but it isn't even just that Carlisle. If it were just about his beauty I'd be able to stay away and just watch from afar. Jacob is-… there's just something about him, I could see it when I looked into his eyes and feel it when I touched his skin. And his skin, it isn't just warm, it burns. I could almost feel my own skin come to life when I touched his and _all I touched_ was his hand." Edward said pausing to look down at his hand and a small smile spread over his face before he started pacing again. And his scent is incredible like earth pine and summer rain, not even Bella's scent can compare. Even when she was right there all I could think of was Jacob and his skin and those breathtaking brown eyes… Am I going insane?"

Edward asked finally stopping to look up at his sire to find a look of confused amusement on his face when the older man answered, "No, I think you've found your true mate."

Carlisle lifted his hands to rub at his temples as he looked down at his desk in thought before looking up to find Edward pacing again, "What was Jacob's reaction, did you tell him?"

Edward shook his head, "No, he… I'm not sure what happened. He felt something, I know he did I could hear it in his thoughts. He's attracted to my scent and when we touched I could tell that he felt something but then, something spooked him. Scared him off and he phased before disappearing into the woods."

Carlisle nodded and Edward could see the man's thoughts as he thought through this information, _'If he felt something, then it's possible that that is what scared him. I can't imagine any of the shifters being very pleased about suddenly developing those kinds of feelings for a vampire.'_

At that thought Edward stopped and slumped back into one of the seats in front of the desk.

"It can never be easy can it?" Edward said with a groan of frustration, "First a human and now wolf. One would think that fate has it in for me."

Carlisle gave his son a soft smile, "Well in fates defense it would seem that Bella was never really your mate to begin with."

"I screwed up didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Carlisle answered honestly and Edward resisted the urge to sigh for what had to be the millionth time that day, "But now you have a chance to change things and make it right. Did you tell Bella?"

Edward shook his head, "No, I wasn't sure. Besides she seemed so upset about Jacob leaving so suddenly and I was in no state of mind to comfort her. I thought it would be best to come home and talk to you first."

The blonde nodded as he leaned back in his seat, "You'll have to tell her, sooner rather than later. And as for Jacob.., I'll need to arrange a meeting with Sam."

Edward's eyes went wide, "Do they have to know?"

"If you and Jacob are going to make this work then yes, the tribe will need to know. You can't keep this a secret Edward." Carlisle said clearly, "If you're right and Jacob really does feel something you won't be able to stay away from each other for very long."

Edward fought off the urge to pout, it doesn't happen very often, but there are times that he hates it when his sire is right.

"In the mean time I would suggest giving Jacob his space-" Edward opened his mouth to protest just as the older man spoke, "Just until we've made sure that the treaty won't be jeopardized by this union. Plus I'm sure seeing you is the last thing Jacob would want right now. To phase and head into the woods as suddenly as you say he did; the shifter must be terribly confused."

Edward couldn't deny that.

Jacob was confused, absolutely confused. His thoughts hadn't made a lot of sense to Edward when they were near one another and then there was that name that Jacob kept thinking of.

Tony.

Jacob seemed to blame Tony for his confusion although Edward couldn't imagine how or why. Is Tony a friend of his, someone that lives on the reservation maybe?

Or was Tony more than just a friend?

At that thought Edward felt a growl bubble up in his chest as a sudden stab of jealousy suddenly pierced his gut, causing Carlisle to stare in surprise before he spoke.

"Edward is something wrong?"

Edward shook his head and forced a smile on his face and shook his head, "No, no everything is fine."

Carlisle knew that wasn't true but he wouldn't push. If Edward wanted to talk about it then he would. The older man just gave Edward a soft smile as he spoke, "Well then, I think Alice would like to talk to you." The blonde said nodding towards the door and Edward took a deep breath as he stood up from the chair and opened the door to find the psychic on the other side with her arms folded across her chest.

Edward sighed; it's going to be a long day.

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Jacob was running.

Running as fast as his paws would carry him as he used his front paws to push himself forward, leaping over tree stumps and streams until he finally broke through the forest and into the reservation. It was right at that moment that Jacob remembered that he ruined his clothes at Bella's so he just made his way back to the house in his wolf form, careful not to attract any attention to himself and immensely thankful that there was no one on patrol just yet. Jacob made it home and quickly phased before stepping into the house. The beta went in through the back door only to walk right into his father who seemed to be making himself something to eat in the kitchen.

"Whoa, forget your cut offs again?" Billy asked just as he placed a slice of bread on top of what looked like a BLT but Jacob just walked passed him and the Quileute leader frowned since he could tell that Jacob was upset.

"Yeah."

"Wait Jacob what's wrong? Did something happen?" Jacob paused in the door way leading to the kitchen for a moment before just shaking his head.

He didn't understand back then, why would he understand now?

"Nothing happened I'm fine." Before Billy could try and get any more information out of his son, the shifter left the room and went upstairs. The moment that Jacob opened the door he found Tony lying on the bed just the way he left him, like the ghost hadn't so much as moved an inch.

"Tony what the fuck?!" Jacob hissed as he slammed his door shut and the ghost sat up and stared at the shifter in surprise. "Well that was fast, have you finally gotten bored with the klutzy ditz… Why are you naked?"

Jacob growled as he headed over to the closet to grab a new pair of clothes and underwear. "Don't play with me Tony I'm not in the mood for one of your games right now."

Tony frowned, "Games, Jacob what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what happened at Bella's house!" Jacob snapped after tugging on a pair of underwear and sweats as he turned back with a glare and the ghost blinked in surprise, "You were screwing with me weren't you. You got in my head somehow and made Bella's leech look like you."

"Jacob how would I-why would I even want to do that? I was under the impression that you hated Bella's vampire." Tony asked a she moved from the bed to stand right in front of the shifter with a deep frown while those green eyes filled with confusion and Jacob felt himself start to falter for a moment, "Exactly what happened?"

Jacob paused and his anger started to die down just a bit, "So you weren't there?"

"You told me not to follow you so I didn't; I've been here since you left." Tony explained and Jacob frowned in confusion as Tony got closer, "Jacob?"

Jacob turned and walked around to sit on the bed, "He looks like you."

"Who looks like me?"

"Edward, Bella's vampire, he looks _exactly_ like you." Tony just blinked in surprise as he stared at the boy while Jacob leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, "Except… his eyes are different I guess, but other than that he looks just like you."

The ghost just continued to stare in confusion, "Are you sure Jacob?"

"I know what I saw Tony. It was everything, I mean his hair and face and when he touched me…" Jacob trailed off as he stared at his hand like it held some sort of mysterious secret as he spoke, "It felt amazing… It can't be real; touching a leech can't feel that good. It has to be a trick right? The leech is probably just using his freaky bloodsucker powers on me right?"

The ghost honestly had no idea what to say.

A vampire that looked exactly like him, what could he say?

Tony had absolutely no idea how to react so he just stared back at the boy for a full tense moment when Jacob brought him back from his thoughts, "Tony, tell me it's not real."

Tony just moved over towards the wolf and leaned into him and Jacob sighed at the phantom cold he could feel seeping into his skin which helped to calm him down at least a little just before Tony spoke.

"I don't know."

**A/N: yeah**

**Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the wait.**

**Thanks for all the reviews **

**See profile on info about further updates**

**Usual apologies**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters**

It was around seven o'clock at night when Tony faded through the wall to enter the large house in the middle of the woods.

He left Jacob in his room, sleeping.

The shifter had only left for about thirty minutes to go see Bella but the shock from that visit left him exhausted and confused. Plus Sam had already called about an hour ago to tell him that the pack would be meeting with the Cullens later that night, since the coven sire called and said that he had something of great importance to discuss. Jacob started freaking out since he wasn't ready to see Bella's vampire again but he also knew that Sam would pop a vein if he even thought about skipping out. So Tony tried to calm him down using his inherent cold to get the teen relaxed and soon Jacob fell into a deep albeit uneasy sleep. Once the shifter fell asleep Tony immediately left the house.

Bella told Jacob about where the Cullens lived once and Jacob in turn told Tony one day when he was voicing his frustrations on the girl, and exactly why she couldn't see the bloodsucking monsters for what they were.

Tony knew that Jacob wasn't going to let him come along to the meeting later that night. It was hard trying to keep his _imaginary friend_ a secret from the pack when he wasn't there let alone when he was hovering just a few feet away so Tony learnt to stay away whenever Jacob went on patrol. Not that he particularly liked staying at home alone and in Jacob's room but he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter.

Sometimes when Jacob was out Tony would hover around Billy and watch him as he went about his day, his heart ached for the man whenever he caught him staring at a picture of Jacob's mother with tears in his eyes or whenever he argued with his daughter Rebecca over the phone but he didn't tell Jacob about those things. They weren't his secrets to tell and he's sure that Billy wouldn't want Jacob worrying about him any more than he already was. It wasn't always apparent but Tony could tell how deeply Billy cared for his son.

As for why he went to the Cullen house well, Tony just needed to see it for himself.

The vampire that supposedly looks exactly like him.

He still isn't sure what to make of that since it didn't really make any kind of real sense, but then again a lot hasn't made sense to him since he met Jacob twelve years ago. It was strange.

First there was nothing and then there was Jacob. Tony could remember his parents; his kind hearted mother and his strict father. He remembered that last day in the hospital, the very same day he supposedly died but that's about it. It was like he'd shut his eyes for just a moment and suddenly there was Jacob. Curled up beneath the covers on his bed, shivering in fear as a storm raged on outside. He'd let out a soft squeak when he saw the older teen suddenly standing in his room but still showed an impressive amount of courage as he bravely asked Tony who he was and how he got into his room.

He's been with the boy ever since.

Things were rough for Jacob at first, what with his mother suspecting him of insanity and his father thinking that he was just acting up, but eventually he got used to having the ghost around and learned not to talk about him since he quickly realized that no one else saw Tony the way that he did.

Years passed and Tony grew to care for the boy and love him more with every day that went by, despite the fact that he could never touch Jacob to comfort him or even welcome him home. Even though he had absolutely no idea why he appeared to Jacob in the first place. He just knew that Jacob was important to him or maybe, he would one day become important to him. Either way Tony never felt any need leave the boy and never even felt the urge to try. For a while Tony felt like he'd be able to be with Jacob just as they were, for the rest of the boy's life. But then Jacob grew older and taller and puberty kicked in, which made things awkward since Jacob's affections for him took a decidedly less innocent turn than how it had been when he was younger. It made things awkward since Tony felt the same way, but they both knew that a relationship would be impossible for them, what with Tony being a ghost and all. So neither one brought it up.

Later Jacob turned sixteen and the shifter gene gave him a growth spurt to end all growth spurts and Tony briefly wondered if that was meant to be his punishment. Maybe he really did pass on into the afterlife and he wasn't actually a ghost. He was being punished for all his sins by being so close yet so very far from the one person that he wanted to hold and touch but never really could.

Tony remembered how strained their relationship was around the time that Jacob found out about his heritage and just didn't seem to have any time for him anymore, since he was always around Sam and the pack. It was different from how it used to be when Jacob was younger and Tony only had to deal with the infuriating little annoyance that was Bella Swan, different because Jacob's bond to the pack went far beyond that of a silly little crush and for a while Tony worried that Jacob may grow tired of him.

But the Quileute never did.

He spent hours at home in the privacy of his own room whenever he wasn't at school or on patrol with the pack. His room was basically the only place that Jacob could talk to the ghost as freely as he wanted to without looking like he was absolutely insane.

Tony learnt that Jacob couldn't fall asleep unless he was right there beside him, the heat from his wolf made things unbearably warm and Jacob said that he liked feeling the cold that came from Tony even if he could never really feel Tony's skin against his own. Jacob also talked to him about things he couldn't talk about with anyone else since, well: if you can't tell your secrets to your imaginary friend then who could you tell?

He's been with Jacob for twelve years and Tony knew without a shadow of a doubt that there isn't anything that he wouldn't do for the Quileute.

Which is why he decided to pay the Cullen house a little visit.

After all, if anyone could figure out what the deal was with his _vampire dopple ganger_ it would be him wouldn't it? Plus, Tony was just a little bit curious as to exactly how close a resemblance he had with this Edward Cullen.

He phased through the wall of a brightly lit house, it was beautiful and spacious, a little flashy for a family of vampires supposedly trying to hide out in the woods but Tony didn't hate it as much as he thought he would.

He walked down the hallway taking a moment to pause as he looked over into the den to find two people sitting on the loveseat furthest away, near the wall beside one of the large glass windows.

One was a woman with beautiful blonde hair and the other was a man with a large frame and dark hair. Both had deathly pale skin and cold eyes and they were curled around one another on the couch, whispering softly to each other in the quiet room.

A mated pair, probably. Tony turned away and moved through the next wall and blinked when he found himself in the kitchen where a woman with brown hair going down to her shoulders stood humming over a stove filled with pots and pans.

The ghost couldn't help but move a bit closer as she smiled stirring a pot of what looked like pasta sauce while the steam from the pots around her rushed up to her cheeks. She had a kind face, something that almost reminded him of his mother and Tony couldn't help but smile.

The woman then seemed to pause and stopped humming all together as she pursed her lips together in a tight line and stared down at the sauce with a frown. Until she stirred the sauce one more time before lifting the wooden spoon up to her lips to taste. She only hesitated for a moment before she tasted the bright red liquid and Tony frowned since Jacob told him that vampires couldn't eat food.

The woman's face suddenly twisted in disgust and she immediately turned back to spit the sauce back out in the sink, opening the tap to release a rush of water to try and dispel the taste.

Tony gave a snort as he turned away and went back into the hall way. Up the stairs and down the hall despite the fact that he could have simply floated up to the second floor. He found the rooms there vacant with the exception of one that had a blonde male vampire sitting on the end of the bed, reading some sort of book. Tony frowned as he edged closer to the man to get a look at what he was reading only to hold back a gasp when the man's head suddenly snapped up and he seemed to look right at him with a frown of his own. Tony gasped immediately phasing out of the room and back down to the first floor.

Was he actually seen?

By someone other than Jacob? But how?

None of the other vampires in the house noticed him at all so maybe… maybe it's a coincidence.

Tony took a deep breath despite the fact that he really didn't need to as he looked around himself. The woman in the kitchen was humming again, clearly having recovered from her little experiment and the two in the den still sat whispering.

Tony turned back and found a door down the hall next to the stairs and made his way towards it, going right through the wooden panel and down the small flight of stairs that made it clear that it was a basement only to smile when he found a baby grand piano sitting right in the middle of the large darkened room.

The ghost moved over towards it, letting his hand drift over the smooth wooden finish on the side of the instrument before sliding over to sit on the bench in front of it. The fall was up, leaving the white and black keys exposed and Tony briefly glanced over the sheets of music on the music rack.

"Bella's song." Tony read the title at the top of the page and realized that the piano probably belonged to Edward. There were dozens of other pages scattered on top of the closed lid with a pencil lying haphazardly on top of them, but Tony barely paid attention to any of it as he lifted his hands and let his fingers hover above the keys before he slowly brought them down.

It didn't make a sound, Tony hadn't expected it to but he felt a familiar calm wash over him at the setting as he remembered the few times that his father had sat beside him when he was younger and taught him how to play. He wished for what sure wouldn't be the last time that he had his own body just so he could at least touch the keys before him.

The ghost sighed in frustration, since he didn't go over to that house to reminisce he went there to find Edward. But Edward didn't seem to be there. The ghost stared at the baby grand for one more moment when-

"Edward? I thought you went to go see Be-" Tony's head snapped up and he silently cursed himself for not noticing the vampire earlier only to freeze in shock when he realized that the vampire just spoke directly to him.

She was a short girl with black hair down to her chin and large gold eyes. Large gold eyes that went wide as she gaped at him.

"What are-… You're not Edward."

With that Tony immediately rushed out of the house in a blur, ignoring the loud shout that the girl gave as he phased through the walls and disappeared into the night.

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"Edward." Bella gasped when she suddenly saw the vampire standing in her room but still smiled as she tried to catch her breath, "I didn't see you. You know for a moment I thought you weren't coming tonight."

Edward resisted the urge to sigh and rake a hand through his hair in frustration; instead he stood still as the girl got up off the bed and walked over to plant a soft kiss on his lips. It was incredibly hard not pushing her away but he didn't kiss her back either and Bella immediately noticed.

The girl frowned, "What's wrong?"

Edward kept his gaze on her as he tried to find the right words, but it was hard. Just the night before he was telling Bella how much he loved her and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was just that afternoon that he'd held her in his arms and kissed her deeply, fighting back against the temptation that her sweet blood always carried for him. But now suddenly things are different.

Her blood was still as sweet and enticing as it used to be, only this time Edward couldn't fool himself into believing that the urge to bite was caused by him wanting to claim her as his mate and not because he desperately wanted to drain her dry. He still cared for her, that much Edward was sure of, but he was also sure that Jacob was the only one he had any intention of claiming and for the first time since he'd convinced himself that he was in love Edward saw his attraction to her for what it was.

She's a sweet girl, kind and thoughtful; she's a wonderful person. But her blood overwhelmed all else and for the first time Edward really felt that burning itch at the back of his throat.

The telepath looked away and immediately stopped breathing, he tried to divert his mind to things other than the blood he could hear rushing through the human girl's veins and almost instinctively Edward's thoughts went straight to Jacob. He wondered what the Quileute was doing, if he'd gotten over the shock of their connection yet and what he was thinking about right at that moment. Edward felt a rush of anticipation as he remembered that Carlisle had called a meeting with the pack and that Jacob would probably be there as well. It's only been a few hours and his heart already ached with longing to see his mate.

"Edward?"

Bella asked in concern as she lifted a hand to gently touch his face instantly bringing the vampire back to the task at hand.

After his talk with Carlisle, Alice had practically shoved Edward into the nearest corner of the house and demanded answers since she had heard the telepath's confession along with everyone else in the house. Edward explained what happened, how it felt when he and Jacob touched and how absolutely sure he was of what the teen meant to him after he did. At first Alice seemed less than pleased as she asked exactly where that left Bella and Edward told her that he simply couldn't go on with the wedding, not anymore.

But the pixie surprised him as she simply let out a sigh.

"I'd had such high hopes for her, she really is such a lovely girl and the visions… well I suppose they don't really matter anymore." Alice gave another sigh, "I just want you to be happy Edward, that's all I've ever wanted for our family. You've been lonely and so unhappy for the longest time that I got so excited when I started seeing you and Bella together. You deserve a mate of your own and if… Jacob can be that for you then I'll support you in whatever way is necessary."

Edward couldn't help but smile, "Thank you Alice that means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, although-" The pixie cut herself off biting her lip for a moment before she spoke, "You know how difficult this will be, don't you? I'm sure the tribe won't be pleased and as for your wolf-… I heard what you told Carlisle about how he reacted at Bella's; he's going to make a very difficult mate Edward."

The telepath sighed, "I know, I know things are going to be difficult but I can't deny the way I feel about him Alice. I've been away from him for less than an hour and I already miss him so badly I can't stand it."

Alice gave him a small smile, "It'll get better once you're mated for now however I think that Carlisle is right, you should give him some space to process what he's feeling."

Edward resisted the urge to pout like a toddler and simply nodded his head as Alice continued, "You'll also need to tell Bella about this as soon as possible it's not fair to keep her in the dark." The pixie said as she plopped down onto the seat beside her brother with a heavy sigh, "How quickly things change. This morning I was sure that you and Bella would be together forever, I was having so much fun planning the wedding and now…" The pixie gave a pout, "I mean, what am I even supposed to do for the wedding? We'll have to change the fitting I'd booked for Bella with the designer with a tailor instead unless, do you think Jacob would mind wearing a dress? I'd try to figure it out for myself but I for some reason I just can't seem to see him."

Edward couldn't help but laugh at that.

A few hours ago, Edward was able to forget about his problems for a while and spent the next two hours rambling on and on about Jacob despite the fact that they hadn't spoken much at all and most of what he knew he'd gotten from Bella and all the stories that he heard from her about the shifter.

But he hoped that that would soon change. Later they would meet with the pack and hopefully things would go well. Hopefully he'd be allowed to see Jacob and maybe Jacob would want to see him. It occurred to Edward that they haven't said more than a few words to one another. Ideally he would've wanted to get to know Jacob first and then build a relationship before telling Sam and the tribe but Carlisle was right, the sooner they know the better. They couldn't have the pack thinking that Jacob has been sneaking around and consorting with cold ones without anyone knowing. If Edward is going to do this, he's going to do this right.

But first…

This needs to end.

"Bella, we need to talk." Edward said taking both of the girl's hands into his own and Bella frowned even more, "About what?"

The telepath swallowed hard as he stared down at their joint hands, how he used to marvel at the warmth radiating beneath her human skin, now all he could think about was how much warmer Jacob's skin was in comparison.

"About the wedding." Edward said leading the girl back towards her bed so they both sat down and Bella's expression grew with even more concern.

"What about it?"

Edward swallowed hard before he spoke, "We can't get married anymore."

Bella froze in shock, "What?"

"Bella. You know I've never wanted this life for you. Being a vampire is hell on earth and I couldn't dream of dooming someone to the same fate as the one that I have to suffer through-"

"But I already told you that I don't care about that." Bella interrupted quickly as she moved a little closer to the telepath, "I love you Edward and as long as we're together then nothing else matters."

"But I don't want to be with you anymore Bella." The girl suddenly sat back completely silent and Edward resisted the urge to sigh as he finished, "There's someone else."

For a perfect moment Edward was almost sure that the girl had stopped breathing. Her face was completely expressionless and Edward internally sighed at the look. Just yesterday he'd found it utterly mysterious how he couldn't read Bella like all the other humans. How he had to put in actual effort to figure what she wanted and how she felt.

Now he can't help but feel utterly frustrated.

"Who is it? How long has this been going on?"

Edward hesitated, he wasn't sure about exactly how much to tell Bella. He knew she deserved to know the truth but he also knew how much Bella meant to Jacob, so he couldn't tell her about his involvement just yet, Jacob would tell her when he's ready.

"Not long."

Bella almost seemed to let out a sigh, "Then it isn't too late, Edward we can work through this. I can forgive you-"

"No we can't and you shouldn't have to forgive me for this. I am the one who's wrong here." the telepath raked a hand through his hair when the girl sank back into herself and he could almost smell the tears collecting in her eyes. The sheer amount of guilt he felt at making her cry almost made Edward want to take his words back.

But he couldn't.

"You deserve better than anything that I could give you Bella. I can't commit to you when I'm in love with someone else."

The girl seemed to give a soft sniff as she looked down at her lap with her hands clenching tight on her jeans, "You said you loved me."

"And I do, just not the same way-"

"That you love her?!" Bella snapped and the telepath sighed but didn't answer and the human girl just knew.

Bella's jaw clenched and her face flushed with heartache before she whispered, "Get out."

Edward swallowed hard, wanting to comfort her but knowing that that would probably just make things worse.

"I really am sorry Bella, but this is the best for everyone." Edward said as he turned back and left through the window the same way that he came, feeling like complete and total utter garbage when he did and yet slightly elated as well.

He didn't want to hurt Bella he'd never dream of it, but both Carlisle and Alice were right. He couldn't keep up the charade with her, knowing what he did about Jacob. Knowing how he felt about the Quileute even if they haven't spent much time together.

There would be time for that later, hopefully if he somehow manages to get a hold of Jacob first.

The telepath sighed.

Things can never be easy can they?

Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and turned on the screen.

Almost time to meet the pack.

Edward walked away from the house, briefly wondering if he should change before hand or if he should just head straight to the border instead. Would Jacob even care? Probably not, but Edward couldn't help but let a small smile creep over his face at the thought that maybe Jacob would care, if he felt the connection that he shared with the vampire the way that Edward was sure he did. But he won't be sure until he actually saw Jacob.

For the first time since they moved to Forks, Edward looked forward to a meeting with the pack.

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"Jacob?"

Tony asked as he appeared in the Quileute's room and found the teen scrambling to find the tie that he usually used to tie his cut offs to his ankle, until he seemed to let out a sigh when he found it in the top drawer beside his bed.

"Hey."

"Jacob there's something I need to tell you."

"I can't talk right now, Sam called he said we have to go." The shifter growled in frustration, "Like I really wanna see any part of the Cullens right now."

Tony moved until he was standing right in front of the teen, "Jacob it's important-"

"Then you can tell me later." Jacob said dismissively as he turned towards his door when he suddenly heard his phone buzz loudly on the bedside table. Jacob gave another frustrated sigh as he turned back to pick it up. "What now-… Bella?"

The shifter frowned at the name flashing across the screen and Tony let out a huff of frustration as he folded his arms across his chest, "So you'll talk to Bella but not to me about something that's actually important?"

"Gimme a break O.K Tony, when I get back we can talk as long as you want." Jacob said as he swiped his finger across the screen and held the phone up to his ear to answer, "Hey, Bells, look I'm kind of in a hurry can I call you back la-… what? Wait, are you crying?... What happened?"

Jacob's eyes went wide and Tony frowned at him when the shifter suddenly growled out.

"He did what?!"

**A/N:**

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